If you loved Vidya Balan’s tiger motif saris during the promotion of her film Sherni, then check out Ghuri by Debjani, the homegrown fashion label that created that exquisite design. Debjani’s puja edit will have all the four saris that were made exclusively for the actor. Apart from that, the designer, who loves experimenting with the threads of the traditional drape, has light-weight benarasi and kanjavirams to glam up your festive wardrobe. Debjani takes us through the edit. Excerpts:
Tell us about the Sherni saris?
There are four saris in this edit that were made for Sherni. Two are high cotton count fine handwoven jamdanis — one with woven tiger motifs on black and the other one with jaguars on carrot red. There’s also a tussar silk with a big tiger woven in jamdani pallu besides a batik sari with a jungle theme replete with Indonesian tiger paintings. We have named this collection Aranyer Din Ratri taking inspiration from Satyajit Ray’s classic film. There is a beautiful Pegasus motif jamdani too in the collection.
Beyond the Sherni collection, what else is on offer?
This year I have curated some specially woven benarasi and kanjivarams which are much more wearable as they are lightweight. These saris were conceived around early 2021 and the colour palette is extremely contemporary.
What kind of blouses can be teamed up with the saris?
Though these saris come with attached blouse pieces, one shouldn’t stop exploring their individual styles. Vidya wore my jamdani Sherni motif sari with her choice of block printed cotton blouse in maroon. You can pair them with ikats, jamdanis and brocade blouses in contrasting colours.
What will be the festive fashion trends?
People don’t want to invest in heavy weaves anymore. So, cotton prints on handlooms and lightweight jamdanis are also trending.
What are your upcoming collections?
I don’t plan in advance, especially in these uncertain pandemic times. But I am taking a course in textile designing and I have plans to experiment with new sustainable textile materials in the future.
Rs10,000 onwards. Available online